Fairmont, West Virginia demographics

Fairmont, WV demographics: median age 34.9; 32.9% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Fairmont city, West Virginia · Incorporated city · GEOID 5426452. The survey estimates a population of 18,221 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Fairmont is 34.9 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.6 years. There are 8,017 households (±339). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	34.9 ±1.6	42.7 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 18,221
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Under 18	3,253 ±353	17.9% ±1.9 pp	20.0%	22.0%
18–34	5,894 ±497	32.3% ±2.7 pp	20.7%	22.8%
35–64	6,156 ±457	33.8% ±2.5 pp	38.2%	38.0%
65 and older	2,918 ±294	16.0% ±1.6 pp	21.0%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 18,221
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Male	9,236 ±318	50.7% ±1.7 pp	49.9%	49.5%
Female	8,985 ±317	49.3% ±1.7 pp	50.1%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 18,221
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
White alone	15,405 ±269	84.5% ±1.5 pp	90.3%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	1,099 ±199	6.0% ±1.1 pp	3.2%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	12 ±12 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.9%
Asian alone	177 ±85	1.0% ±0.5 pp	0.8%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	1 ±3 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	187 ±95 · low precision	1.0% ±0.5 pp · low precision	0.8%	7.1%
Two or more races	1,340 ±294	7.4% ±1.6 pp	4.9%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 18,221
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	17,775 ±134	97.6% ±0.7 pp	97.9%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	446 ±124	2.4% ±0.7 pp	2.1%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 8,017
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Married-couple family	3,012 ±256	37.6% ±2.8 pp	46.8%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	411 ±130	5.1% ±1.6 pp	4.9%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	758 ±166	9.5% ±2.0 pp	10.9%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	2,730 ±364	34.1% ±4.3 pp	31.3%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	1,106 ±236	13.8% ±2.9 pp	6.1%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 8,017
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Households with people under 18	1,670 ±208	20.8% ±2.4 pp	26.4%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	6,347 ±438	79.2% ±4.3 pp	73.6%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 8,017
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	2,730 ±364	34.1% ±4.3 pp	31.3%	28.7%
Two-person households	3,320 ±354	41.4% ±4.0 pp	36.3%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,001 ±197	12.5% ±2.4 pp	15.3%	15.3%
Four-person households	452 ±128	5.6% ±1.6 pp	10.5%	12.6%
Five-person households	303 ±109	3.8% ±1.3 pp	4.3%	5.9%
Six-person households	198 ±95	2.5% ±1.2 pp	1.6%	2.2%
Seven or more people	13 ±28 · low precision	0.2% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.8%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 18,221
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Native	17,950 ±114	98.5% ±0.6 pp	98.2%	85.9%
Foreign born	271 ±109	1.5% ±0.6 pp	1.8%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 17,452
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
English only	17,059 ±215	97.7% ±0.6 pp	97.5%	77.7%
Spanish	207 ±112 · low precision	1.2% ±0.6 pp · low precision	1.2%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	78 ±80 · low precision	0.4% ±0.5 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	39 ±49 · low precision	0.2% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.3%	2.0%
Korean	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	1.1%
Vietnamese	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	1.1%
Arabic	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	69 ±59 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 12,296
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	850 ±209	6.9% ±1.7 pp	10.7%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	3,766 ±409	30.6% ±3.2 pp	39.3%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	2,586 ±349	21.0% ±2.8 pp	17.5%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	1,052 ±227	8.6% ±1.8 pp	8.4%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	2,653 ±350	21.6% ±2.8 pp	14.4%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	1,389 ±249	11.3% ±2.0 pp	9.7%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 18,031
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Same house	15,040 ±384	83.4% ±2.1 pp	89.7%	87.7%
Moved within same county	1,484 ±344	8.2% ±1.9 pp	5.1%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	970 ±245	5.4% ±1.4 pp	2.7%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	494 ±174	2.7% ±1.0 pp	2.4%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	43 ±38 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

7.9% of Fairmont residents (±1.9 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.0% in West Virginia and 8.4% nationally. 93.1% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Fairmont	West Virginia	U.S.	Compared with West Virginia
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	7.9% ±1.9 pp	6.0%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	93.1% ±0.6 pp	86.1%	91.0%	Higher
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	7.2% ±1.4 pp	7.4%	6.2%	Not statistically different

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Fairmont . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Fairmont housing and cost context or return to the city profile.